Durban comedian-turned-politician, TR Moodley or Karou Charou as he’s known on the streets, is blazing up the KwaZulu-Natal elections polls, earning himself more than 12,000 votes so far. Calling himself the ‘new Tiger in town’, he chatted to IOL about his votes so far and plans to open a new political party.
With 99.42% of counting wrapped up, Moodley has 12,320 votes.
Speaking to IOL on Saturday, he noted that he amassed the votes with a minimal budget and reached around 30% of his electorate.
He plans to launch his own political party, the National Indian Congress to contest the next elections.
Earlier this week, Moodley said he was excited and overwhelmed by the support from those who voted for him.
“I said to my electorate that we are going to make history and I’m glad to be a part of it. For so long, in my community, we felt that we were left behind as leadership. Now I am showing them that I am here with major parties and I am showing them a thing or two,” he said.
Standing as an independent candidate, Moodley said his campaign was about uplifting his community.
He said he’s also had to deal with detractors and ‘haters’ who have shared negative comments during his campaign.
“But I have risen above all of that. For me, it’s about showing the people that it doesn’t matter what people say about you, if you know your value.
“I knew who I was and I knew the people who believed in me will come through at the end of the day,” Moodley said.
He said if he campaigned as hard as the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party), he would have seen greater numbers.
"If I campaigned hard like the MK Party and gone into the areas, you’d see much more numbers. I’ll tell you this much, I will give the Democratic Alliance (DA) a run for their money.
“I think I have the potential to do this. I think my electorate is looking for new leadership,” he said, adding that he will set a next milestone in 2026.
Thanasagren Moodley says he felt shivers when he arrived at the KZN ROC & looked at how many votes he secured in Wednesday's elections. He stood as an independent candidate and says in the next election, he's sure he'll give the DA a run for their money. @IOL pic.twitter.com/xLzepYyE9r
— Se-Anne Rall (@seannerall) May 31, 2024
IOL Politics